By Tyler Bothe - GJD
The Status, making their debut with “So This is Progress,” have already surrounded themselves with the right people. Whether it be their manager, Bayside lead singer Anthony Raneri, the backup vocals they get from Adam Lazzara lead singer of Taking Back Sunday on their track: "Where the Heart Is,” or the production from Kenny Gioia, best known for his commercial success with Marcy Playground's 1998 hit "Sex and Candy,” things are looking up for this determined four piece from Atlanta, GA.

The overall production on this project is top notch. To my ears, none of the 12 tracks are over produced or packed with fluff. The drums are fat and punchy and blend nicely with the cutting guitar parts and the heavy bass lines.

The Status say themselves that they're not looking to save music, and it's true; there are no boundaries being pushed, and no artistic doors being thrown open here, which down the road will be a turning point for a band whose genre is plagued with a billion sound-a-likes everyday. For now though the band separates themselves from every other cookie cutter pop/rock act with their abilities to not only crank out a decent riff here and there, but to lyrically push out of the seemingly inescapable desire to write about girls and the “would have,” “could have,” “should haves” in high school that their genre has come into great association with over the years.

That said, the best track on this CD is not the single Perfect Day which started their career off by being played repeatedly on the local Atlanta radio station 99X, nor the title track So This is Progress which gains great strength in its harmonizing vocals and anthem like quality. Credit deserved to those other tracks, but the song on here that is the direction that will push them to where their predecessors have thrived is The Wake of What's Been Done, a soft take on where the country has gone, and where you have to go emotionally to get above it all. Lyrically it's their deepest, and song-writing wise it is a stark contrast to where bands of that scene go and otherwise fall out of existence. It's a strong start, and hopefully with the way things are going, they can make this sound their own.